Most of us that have been on Facebook for awhile remember when there used to be Fan pages.  These were the pages that people put together either for personal causes or to promote their business interests.  The Facebook decided to turn them into Like pages.  If I went to your old Fan page and clicked on the Like button that really meant I was a Fan or, at least, I agreed to add your page to my already huge list of pages I follow (sort of).

Now the Like button can be used on almost any web page in the world.  It doesn’t have to be on Facebook.  It can be my personal website (which has more than one page) and it can be at the bottom of every blog post.  It seems that if you click the Like button it will appear on Facebook and the number of Likes will start to add up…or not.

So when you read this post your comments are welcome and encouraged.  But even if you have nothing to say, click on the Like button.  Please Like Me.

One of the coolest things about the National Association of Realtors Mid-Year Conference is the Trade Expo.  Now t be honest, the Mid-Year isn’t anywhere near as large as the one that takes place at the annual conference in November.  Still, it’s pretty nice.  This year I actually saw a bunch of exhibitors I hadn’t seen at Realtor trade shows before and I was happy to learn about a lot of new stuff. The other thing I was happy about was that there wasn’t any high pressure to buy now, today only type stuff.  A lot f the people took my card and told me they’d be in touch.

Some interesting stops along the way:

• DocuSign — really cool web based software that allows documents to be signed with a digital signature that is individually coded and secure.  This makes it a whole lot easier to get the documents that need signatures completed no matter where the home buyer or home seller is located.  It can be across the street or across the ocean.  A few mouse clicks and and e-mail address and it’s done.
• ListingBook —This is a web based service that helps home buyers, home sellers and Realtors keep in contact with each other and on the same page.  For home buyers it has a robust search tool tied directly to our local Multiple Listing Service (MRIS). Home Sellers get the advantage of seeing what is happening with home sales in their immediate neighborhood and allows the Realtor to notify other ListingBook clients that a particular house might just be the one that matches their criteria.
• Massaging Insoles — This is all about comfortable walking.  You just gotta visit the website
• TextLinkAds — A great way to build search engine optimization (we all love SEO) so that people find the website easier.

Of course, it was also nice to run into a lot of Realtors I haven’t seen in awhile or that I do see from time to time but not in a relaxed social setting.   All in all, a lot of fun and got some “work” in, too.  I took part in a focus group about data security and did my day of lobbying on Capitol Hill with some local Congresspeople and Senators.  Hopefully, they’ll listen to our concerns.

The Mid-Year Conference is starting to wind down and then the preparations will be for the Big Kahuna in November. This year it’s in New Orleans so they’re calling it NARdi Gras.  Cute, huh?

After blogging about how I’m not that enamored of real estate conferences anymore, today I am heading to a real estate conference.  This one is called Summit IX (sorta like the Super Bowl has numbers.  It’s for the Allen Hainge CyberStars — a group of Realtors who embrace technology and technological change.  We share ideas and tips on how to best use current and upcoming (read: bleeding edge) technology to best serve our clients and to best attract new clients.

It should be fun.  This is my first one but I already know a lot of the people who will be there.  I’ve met them at other conferences!  Plus, it’ll be warmer than the MD Suburbs of DC.  It’s supposed be 70° + during the day and in the 40s at night.  Not so bad

Labor Day weekend is always a lot of great fun.  It’s a long weekend with most people having the first Monday in September as a holiday. It’s the end of summer — the last blast of time off before kids get back to school and grown ups are expected to be done with their vacations.

One of the things that is most fun is  the wholesome, down home fun of the Greenbelt Labor Day Festival which runs from Friday to Sunday.  This year, Jan and I went on Sunday about noon to beat all the big crowds and to get a chance to browse through some of the hundreds and hundreds of used books on sale benefiting the Greenbelt Elementary School PTA.  There are also the many food booths that benefit many of the community organizations in Greenbelt.  Oh yeah, the rides!

Then there are the bands. We got a chance to listen to a great jazz band — Bruce Swain Jazz — and there was a Battle of the Bands later that afternoon featuring a good friend, Ed Crowley, who is a Greenbelter from way back. There are beauty pageants, a parade on Monday morning and a chance to run into people you may not have seen for awhile.

The weather was with us on this Labor Day. The weather was warm without being too hot.  The sun was shining.  It was just a great time.  If you happen to live in the area, you know what I mean. If you ever thought of moving t the MD Suburbs of DC, Greenbelt and the towns around Greenbelt are a great place to live.

Check out the Market Trends for up to 10 zip codes (including Greenbelt) in the MD Suburbs of DC by simply filling in the form over to the right or click here. You will get a totally FREE report e-mailed to you. No phone calls, no spam. I promise.

Last Saturday, the College Park Woods Swim Club had its annual crab feast.  This is the first one that Jan and I have been to and we both had a great time.  It was a beautiful evening and there was a great turn out! Crabs (as much as you could eat), hot dog, corn on the cob, bar-b-que, soda and beer.  Great company and an appearance by Senator Jim Rosapepe of the 21st District.

Here are some of the memories:

Recently I’ve had a hankerin’ for some good ol’ diner food.  Some people call it “comfort food”.  No matter what you call it, the experience usually involves heading down to a building that looks like an old RV and has a counter full of old guys shooting the breeze with waitresses that call you “hun”.  Recently, new upstarts have tried to capitalize on the diner experience: the Silver Diner is one which has evolved into a chain.

The Nautilus Diner is another with two locations -  Crofton, MD and Timonium, MD.  I checked out Crofton.

The morning I went it was a nice, sunny day about 10:30.  I had a couple of cups of coffee but I really had a taste for pancakes.  Since these diner places tend to sell breakfast all day, I thought I would check out the new diner (I would ride by it while it was being built while I was showing homes to my buyer clients).

The verdict — don’t bother.

Even though the diner wasn’t that busy it took a few minutes to get seated and a lot more minutes to wait for someone to come up and ask if I wanted to order or wanted some coffee.  Eventually the diner’s manager or owner — he was pretty official looking — came over and asked if I was being served.  I told him what I had in mind and as he turned away he relayed my order to a waiter in the area. I ordered the French Toast special which was supposed to come with a breakfast meat but, of course, no one asked me what kind.  The French Toast came out a few minutes later without butter or syrup.

After I asked, the sausage, butter and syrup and it came out pretty quickly.  The condiments were pre-packaged.  The French Toast itself was under prepared with a mushy taste and the sausage tasted like  a hot dog.

What About Lunch and Dinner?

I’m guessing that lunch and dinner might be a different experience.  They have this absolutely beautiful display of all  kinds of desserts and cakes right in the front as you come through the door.  If breakfast wasn’t already dessert I would almost feel compelled to order something.

However, the breakfast experience with the slow service, the food that was well below expectations (even for diner food) was enough for me to know that it’s not worth the trip back.  There are plenty of other nice diners — Plato’s Diner in College Park, MD, the Tastee Diner in Laurel, MD, Silver Spring, MD and Bethesda, MD as well as the Silver Diner chain — that have much better food, better service and, truth be told, better prices.

Today, a new and, hopefully, exciting new venture has been launched — Photos Around the DC Suburbs.  This will be an ongoing photo project of interesting sites in and around the DC Metro area.  The first photo shows Testudo —the University of MD mascot —a terrapin, of course.  It sits in front of McKeldin Library at one end of a long grassy mall where students and faculty hang out to read, study, play a little Frisbee®.

I hope you enjoy it as I enter in some photos that highlight life in towns outside of Washington, DC like:

• College Park, MD
• Beltsville, MD
• Laurel, MD
• Silver Spring, MD
• Bethesda, MD

and many, more places nearby.

Click Here to take a look.

I found this fascinating quote today:

Michael Kordahi, (@delic8genius ) created a simple search site that delivers the unbranded results from Google, Yahoo and Bing.  You can find it at http://blindsearch.fejus.com Search for “MD Suburbs ” and you’ll find 3 very different results.  Click on the Vote button and the three search engines will be revealed.  For each search the columns are switched.  Having a little fun, I searched for “Decision Engine” and “Why Bing?” just to see how skewed I could make it.

Bing, Google or Yahoo?

You should read the whole article!

It’s that time of year again!  Time to think about cooling down and getting wet.  Yeah, I know. It’s been raining a lot this season so getting wet isn’t at the top of your mind.  Take my word for it, though.  It’s going to get hot and you’ll want to be able to splash around in the pool.

College Park Woods Swim Club is now taking membership applications for the 2009 season.  Just click on this link to download the information form — College Park Woods Swim Club Information and Registration Form.

The very best part is that you don’t have to live in College Park Woods to join the pool!  Of course, it would help if you lived nearby but, hey, it’s a nice pool and the drive might be worth it. Download the form and join the club.  You’ll be glad you did!

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Today is the day we, as a nation, set aside in order to honor our military and their families for their service and, in many cases, their lives for our country.  Regardless of our views on wars or the need for national defense, there is no question that these men and women and their families make sacrifices far beyond those of the rest of us.

It’s also a National Holiday with friends gathering together to grill burgers or enjoy the parades.  Here are a few local events:

• National Memorial Day Parade (downtown DC)
• Alexandria Memorial Day Jazz Festival (for all you jazz lovers)
• Navy Band Memorial Day Concert (downtown DC)
• Memorial Day Observance at the Vietnam War Memorial
  (see drawing)
• Rockville’s Hometown Holidays (Rockville, MD in Montgomery County)

These are just a few of the events going on around town today.  Enjoy the day.  Remember our vets.